Robbery Suspect Held On Suicide Watch After Not Posting Bail

Friday 2 p.m. – Earlier today, Patrick Johnson, 36, was arraigned in Fourth Division District Court in Wakefield on a felony charge of second-degree robbery. The charge stems from a bank robbery at Washington Trust Bank in Bonnet Shores on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Narragansett Police Detective Lt. Sean Corrigan, an officer familiar with Johnson from past arrests identified him from security footage. From there, follow up work by Narragansett detectives with witnesses allowed for a positive ID of Johnson.

With that information, an arrest warrant was issued for Johnson on Wednesday night. Warwick police searched for Johnson in their town at a past address, and a statewide bulletin was issued.

However, according to Narragansett police, they received an anonymous tip on Johnson’s location on Thursday afternoon. This allowed for the Rhode Island State Police Violent Fugitive Task Force to arrest Johnson in Providence at 4:30 p.m.

According to Corrigan, the Rhode Island State Police Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Warwick police detective division both worked “very hard” to pinpoint Johnson’s location.

Johnson was arraigned on Friday morning. Appearing before District Court Associate Judge Rafael A. Ovalles in Fourth Division District Court, Johnson did not enter a plea to a felony charge of second-degree robbery. (With felony charges, it is customary for defendants to not enter a plea.)

Ovalles set bail at $50,000 with surety. As of Friday afternoon, bail had not been posted for Johnson. Court documents also noted that Johnson was on suicide watch.

Johnson’s address is listed as 127 Iroquois Road in Narragansett, and attorney John D. Lynch is currently representing him. A bail review is scheduled for June 2, and felony screening is scheduled for June 28.  

In earlier reports, Patch erroneously reported that Johnson was 35 years old. We apologize for the error. Below are previous reports we have done on the robbery, allowing you to see how the case progressed.

Thursday 6:40 p.m. – According to Narragansett Police Detective Lt. Sean Corrigan, Patrick Johnson, the 36-year-old suspect in the bank robbery at Bonnet Shores on Wednesday afternoon, was arrested this afternoon.

In an e-mail, Corrigan wrote that Johnson had been arrested in Providence by Rhode Island State Police on Thursday afternoon. More information on the arrest and the investigation will be released on Friday.

Thursday 8:55 a.m. – Security camera pictures of the alleged bank robber have now been published on the Rhode Island Most Wanted website, and Narragansett police have issued a warrant and released a mug shot of Patrick S. Johnson, 36.

According to a Thursday morning press release by Narragansett police, officers have obtained an arrest warrant for Johnson, who was last seen in the Warwick area around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. He is about 6’2” and 230 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes.

Narragansett police released a mug shot of Johnson from his most recent prior arrest, a Feb. 2011 incident in Newport for public urination. Newport Patch has a report of that . His last published address is 53 Superior St. in Warwick.

According to the Rhode Island Judiciary online database, Narragansett police have arrested Johnson in the past, along with other departments, on misdemeanor charges.

• In May 2009, Narragansett police arrested Johnson on charges of driving while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license. He pleaded no contest in May to the drunken driving offense, and the suspended license charge was dismissed. At the time, he was ordered to pay a fine and court costs, and to surrender his license for three months.
• In February 2004 and October 2005, South Kingstown police arrested Johnson on charges of driving with a suspended license. The February charge was dismissed in November 2005 after Johnson pleaded no contest to the October charge. He was ordered to pay a fine.
• In February 2003, Narragansett police arrested Johnson on a charge of driving with a suspended license. Johnson pleaded no contest in the same month and was ordered to pay a fine.
• In 2002, Johnson had two additional suspended license charges, one each from Warwick and South Kingstown police. In each case, he pleaded no contest and was ordered to pay a fine.

The Rhode Island Most Wanted website is maintained by state police agencies and departments. For more information, read the frequently asked questions of the organization here.

Wednesday 11:30 p.m. – Narragansett police have released a statement about the robbery earlier today at Washington Trust Bank in Bonnet Shores.

According to police, at about 12:15 p.m. one man robbed the bank by sliding the teller a note demanding money. The robber was described as a white male, 6’1”, wearing a bright yellow hat with ‘Block Island’ on the front, a yellow raincoat and a grey sweatshirt. He was described as having dark hair, with about a day’s worth of facial hair stubble.

As of about 10:15 p.m., an arrest had not been made. According to a police dispatcher, a photo had yet to be released, and one has not been posted on the Rhode Island Most Wanted site either.

Wednesday 1:50 p.m. – Police are investigating a bank robbery at Washington Trust in Bonnet Shores that occurred shortly after noon today.

According to Narragansett Police Captain William McGovern, shortly after noon a man came into the bank and showed the teller a note demanding money. McGovern said no weapon was shown, and the man left with an undetermined amount of money.

McGovern said no one was harmed, and there was one other customer in the bank at the time of the robbery. Police currently do not have any suspects. Investigators and police from Narragansett, South Kingstown and North Kingstown swarmed the area to search for the robber, McGovern said.

Shortly after 1 p.m., Twitter users and other residents in the North End talked of a police investigation involving a robbery at Washington Trust.

According to these people, police were interviewing people at the surrounding stores and from inside the bank at the time. According to employees at a nearby store, they didn’t learn of the incident until after it happened from the police response.

The Washington Trust branch is closed for the rest of the day.

Narragansett Patch will update as more details become available. Thanks to Stephen Lambert for the initial information via Twitter.